But even more important than a stadium is a team dummy post

PORTLAND, Ore. — Now that real money has been offered for two stadium sites in Portland, the baseball push is real.

But even more important than a stadium is a team.

Gerard Mildner, the Academic Director of the Portland State University Center for Real Estate, studies the movement of sports teams, and says there are many challenges to landing a new team.

“Well I think the first hurdle is finding a franchise owner who wants to move to Portland, Oregon,” he said. “We should also be aware that the franchises are probably using Portland to some extent as a backup plan and leverage to get improvements in their own stadiums.”

Mildner pointed out that the Portland area’s population size would make it harder for owners to make money than in a larger market.

There are incredible costs involved regardless of market size. A stadium would run from $500 million to $1 billion.

Then there’s the cost of buying a team, the cost of moving it, the cost of payroll before it starts making money again, and the cost of paying other teams for encroaching on their territory.